Thirteenth Chance
by Minstrel of Ages
Summary: [Oneshot] Genis talks with Hotaru, only to have him leaving with more emotions for her than he intended to have! Prequel to Firefly in the Darkness. Hotaru x Genis. Sidestory to Angel Feathers. [Tales of Symphonia x Sailor Moon]


**(Author's Notes: This qualifies as a oneshot, even though there is a cliffhanger at the end. This is the prequel to another fic of mine I will write called Firefly in the Darkness. This is also a side-story to Angel Feathers, but the last part is the introduction to my newer story. Yes, I'm aware that I'm cranking stories out like hell. It's because it's SPRING BREAK FOR ME! YEAH! -cheers- I'll continue Angel Feathers as well, but I want to work on my next story as well. No worries!  
**

**I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Sailor Moon!)**

**//. i . s a w . y o u . c r y i n g .//**

_- y o u r . t e a r s . S H A T T E R E D . m y . h e a r t -_

_Death, darkness…was it really all a part of who she was?_

The Altamira hotel was bigger than anyone in the group ever guessed it would be. The sunlight fell into the clear glass, allowing it to shine into the brightly-lit lobby and hallways. Throughout the large tower and the city of Altamira, the entire group was taking a small break from their quest to save the two worlds. Many of the Senshi went out to the beach or the amusement park, hoping to get some fun out of their free day. However, people like Raine who hated the ocean, stayed in the hotel to read. Setsuna remained with the professor, reading silently with the half-elven professor.

Only two of the group members stayed up in the hotel room, however. The young and intelligent Genis Sage wanted to take a nap, even though the clock had just struck noon. He didn't feel hungry. He didn't feel up to doing anything productive. Just to sleep and think about the events that was going on.

Nearby, the fluffy, red armchair was occupied. The violet eyes of Hotaru Tomoe scanned a piece of paper that was firmly clutched in her grip. She looked it over once, and read it again. What was this paper, you ask? Even Genis wasn't sure. The mage found himself taking multiple glances at her to make sure that the paper didn't explode or anything. Even though paper didn't explode, she made it seemed like it did.

"Hotaru?" Genis questioned, walking over to the Senshi of Saturn. Hotaru's gaze didn't avert to meet Genis'. Instead, she continued to read the paper as if he didn't say anything at all. Annoyed, Genis walked to the side of the young Senshi and tapped her on the shoulder. Hotaru let out a 'yelp' of surprise, turning toward Genis. The young half-elf mage swore that he saw a flash of pink on her cheeks before she caught herself.

"O-oh, sorry Genis." Hotaru apologized for not being able to respond.

"What is that?" Genis asked curiously. He knew that she had all of the intelligence as her foster mother, the guardian of Time. However, to fawn over something simple like a piece of paper was a tad bit strange. Hotaru glanced at the paper once again, allowing Genis to look at it as well.

"It's a letter that Haruka-papa wrote me when she went to Africa." Hotaru said, handing over the paper to her friend. Genis looked it over. He didn't want to ponder over what or where Africa was.

'_That's right, Hotaru doesn't remember her real parents...well, it's not like I know mine either._' Genis thought sadly. He read it carefully, noting the small grammar mistakes that Haruka made. She must have been writing it quickly. Haruka seemed to do everything quickly.

'_Haruka always seems so serious and determined. But blind. If Helios was still in my head, he would tell me that she was probably blind in life. No, he wouldn't tell me that._' Genis was lost in his thoughts. Only the voice of Hotaru could bring him back to reality.

"Are you alright?" Hotaru asked. Genis quickly nodded to show that he didn't fly off to the land of daydreams.

"Isn't such a sweet letter? Haruka-papa is so fantastic. She won the race without any troubles at all!" Hotaru cheered. She smiled brightly, taking back the letter that Haruka had sent her.

"Yeah…but, Hotaru, doesn't it make you wonder where your real parents are?" Genis asked. Hotaru's face darkened, and the mage panicked.

'_Oh no! I made her sad!_' Genis thought in a panic. Hotaru saw the fear on his face, and assumed that he was worried. Worried? No one worried about her over the smaller things…except the Senshi and Chibiusa.

"I saw a flashback a long time ago. My father…he tried to use me as a vessel to take over my world." Hotaru explained. "He wasn't insane, but he had insane desires." Hotaru explained to Genis. "But deep down, he loved me as any father would love his child." Hotaru explained, tearing up.

'_A **vessel**? What kind of a parent uses their child for their inhumane desires?!_' Genis thought in rage. '_He doesn't deserve…huh?_' ranting in his head, he was stopped by the wails of the Senshi of Saturn.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have brought this up!" he yelled in guilt.

"No…please…" Hotaru stood up and placed a hand on Genis' shoulder. "It's not your fault." Hotaru muttered.

'_I've seen those tears before. In that dream where I met Helios…it was Hotaru crying. It was devastating…what in the world could be happening?_' Genis thought of the previous dream he had experienced.

"Genis?" Hotaru asked, her grip tightening on his shoulder. Genis turned around quickly, facing Hotaru with a serious stare. "Did I upset you?" Hotaru asked, her violet eyes swimming with concern. Before she knew it, he had locked her into a tight hug. "Genis…are you feeling alright?" she asked.

'_Hotaru…I won't let anything happen to you! Now I understand why Helios wants to protect Chibiusa so much!_' Genis thought, holding the Senshi of Saturn tightly in his arms. Hotaru felt tears falling down her pale face, but she no longer felt sad. These were tears of joy…tears that showed compassion for her friend who gave her the love that she sought after. She wept silently, returning the hug of her new best friend. Chibiusa still showed her the compassion of a friend, but she had her duties. She had to take on the role of what her mother previously had.

Genis, on the other hand, realized what he was doing. His eyes widened as he quickly let go of Hotaru, shivering. "I…I…" his face was the deepest shade of red that Hotaru had ever witnessed. "I'll see you later, Hotaru!" Genis raced out of the hotel room, leaving Hotaru alone.

"W-what?" Hotaru asked, surprised.

**//s a t u r n//**

Genis took the elevator down to the first level of the hotel, seeing that no one he knew was there. He sighed; the memory of holding Hotaru was now like a lucid dream.

"This is just so confusing!" Genis yelled at himself, glaring at the glass windows where the sun shone through.

"Genis, are you alright?" it wasn't the voice of his sister, but the voice of Rei, the Senshi of Mars. Genis looked over to see Rei, her appearance suddenly making him turn red. For one fact, Rei was dressed in a bikini. The red, skimpy bathing suit was showing a lot of her skin. And for another thing, Rei did look like Hotaru a little bit. Almost like an older and more mature version of her…wait! Why did that matter? Those thoughts flew through the genius' head as he struggled to answer the priestess.

"I-I'm fine." Genis quickly lied.

"There's something on your mind, and it's obvious." Rei caught his personality flaw and smirked. "Genis, you don't have to be afraid to tell me what's wrong. Let me just go change and we can talk about it." Rei walked into the elevator, pushing a button to ride up to the hotel room. Genis sighed. There was no way to escape from Rei, the psychic maiden. Genis looked over toward the door. He expected some other members of the group to come back, but no one was there.

'_Did she come back to the hotel alone?_' Genis thought, realizing that Rei did not come back with anyone. Moments later, Rei arrived back in the lobby, dressed in a white blouse and a red, ruffled skirt. Her raven hair was tied into a ponytail. In her hand, she carried a deck of cards.

"Where's everyone else?" Genis asked curiously. Rei rolled her eyes and groaned.

"I came back alone. Ami and Makoto were playing beach volleyball with Colette and Lloyd, and Minako wouldn't pay any attention to me. She was gawking at _Zelos_." Her voice turned to venom as she mentioned the Tethe' allan Chosen. Genis sweatdropped.

'_It looks like I'm not the only one who hates him…_' Genis thought, thinking of the perverted chosen.

"Well, I'm here to talk with you about your problems. Sit down, Genis." Rei took Genis over to a nearby table on the patio, sitting him down across from him.

"I don't have problems, Rei." Genis told her sharply, trying to get out of this. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about what happened. His dreams about Hotaru in danger, and the event that occurred upstairs.

"That's not what the cards tell me." Rei stated. Genis looked on the table to see three Tarot cards neatly aligned before him.

"Tarot?" Genis asked, not believing in the supernatural. Rei nodded.

"Do me a favor Genis. Close your eyes and think of a person. Put your hand on the deck and draw a card and I'll try and guess who it is, and if I get it right, you have to tell me why you thought of that person." Rei explained.

'_It's not like it's going to be hard for her to do that._' Genis thought in disappointment. "Alright." He agreed. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Who to think about? If he thought about Hotaru, he would have to explain all of the details to her. Maybe there was someone else he could center his thoughts on…wait a moment.

'_I've got it._' He smirked as an idea came to his mind. He would think of someone that Rei would have trouble talking about. He centered that person in his mind and drew the card. It came up as The Chariot. Genis opened his eyes to see Rei's face turn from mysterious to shock.

"I-is is Lloyd?" Rei asked, her voice shaking. '_That damn brat!_' she thought, knowing what game he was playing.

"Yeah!" Genis said, smirking.

"All right, Genis! All I'm trying to do is help you. If you want to play games with me, that's fine." Rei ranted.

"What's wrong with me drawing the card of my best friend?" Genis asked. "Do you like Lloyd or something?"

Bullseye.

"N-NO!" Rei blurted out. "Let's talk about something else!" she desperately tried to change the subject. Genis snickered as he saw the lines of red blush cross her pale cheeks.

'_She likes Lloyd!_' he thought in an immature taunt, his smirk never dying.

"Think of someone else. And be serious this time." Rei told him. Genis took in a breath. If she was so psychic, then why would she bother asking him all of this? He decided not to think of anyone. He cleared his mind, only to find that there was one person he could not be rid of. He drew the card, only to have Rei gasp.

"Death!" Rei exclaimed. Genis dropped the card.

It was Hotaru he thought of. And he drew Death? What did this mean?

"I see." Rei said, picking up the card and placing it back into the deck. "You're concerned about Hotaru. But how…?" Rei asked, reading Genis' face.

"Look, I've been having these weird dreams about her. She's always crying and standing near the Tower of Salvation, holding her scythe like she's going to do something she regrets!" Genis admitted. Rei nodded slowly.

"Those dreams are always the scariest." Rei told him. She stood up and walked over to the mage. "Is Hotaru in the hotel?" she asked. Genis nodded. "Go tell her." Rei said.

"What?" Genis asked.

"Tell her about those dreams. Tell her about your reading. She will understand. I have to go find Haruka and Michiru." Rei explained.

"Why?" Genis asked, knowing that this was something bad.

"Don't worry, Genis. She'll understand once you tell her everything. Just trust me." Rei said, smiling. The Senshi of Mars walked off, leaving Genis to stand on the patio alone.

**//s a t u r n//**

"I hope I didn't scare him…" Hotaru muttered as she stared out the window into the cloudless sky. "I scare a lot of people with my unusual powers, after all…" the young Senshi whispered to herself, her memories flooding her head. The sounds of the elevator arriving made her sit up, realizing that someone was coming toward the room.

"Hotaru!" Genis walked into the room, relieved that she was still there.

"Genis? What happened?" Hotaru asked, concerned for him ever since he ran out of the room.

"Hotaru…I need to tell you something," Genis began. Hotaru looked at him with a deeper amount of concern.

"What?" Hotaru asked, standing up and walking toward him. Genis hesitated. He questioned himself why, but he couldn't answer.

"I-I-I'm worried about…the future of our journey." Genis explained. Hotaru's face turned from concern to confusion.

"Whatever do you mean?" Hotaru asked, tilting her head.

"For Chibiusa, for Lloyd, for Helios…and for you! I had a weird dream that kept occurring for a long time, and it always had you in it. You were always crying, but holding the scythe you have as Sailor Saturn firmly. You seem determined to get something done, but regret the action of doing it." Genis felt the heavy weight lift off of his chest. Hotaru, on the other hand, turned pale and grim. She looked down at the floor, her violet eyes narrowing.

"I…see." She said quietly. Genis noticed that she knew what he was talking about.

"You know something about this, don't you?" Genis asked.

"Please…" Hotaru spoke up, louder than before. "Don't talk about it." She said, now returning to her soft voice. "I don't want to talk about that. Not now, not when I'm happy for the first time in a while." She muttered quietly, smiling weakly at Genis. His eyes widened. Hotaru walked out of the room, her weak smile fading slowly as she left the hotel room. Genis felt absolutely guilty for bringing it up, but something inside him told him he did the right thing. A feeling that made him feel at ease, but another emotion that made his heart sink. He wanted to comfort Hotaru, make sure she was all right, but something told him to leave her alone. He sat on the bed, thinking over the events in his head.

'_I never had to think this much back in Iselia…_' he thought, sighing. "Hotaru, I'm sorry…" he whispered, hanging his head to look at the floor.

Outside the room, Hotaru had tucked her legs under her arms. She hugged her legs to her chest, crying into her knees. "Genis…" she muttered, feeling the same way to her new friend.

She regretted her destiny. She didn't need to place the mage in any more danger.

**//s a t u r n//**

"How sweet…" muttered the voice of a female. In Yggdrasil's lair, a woman with blonde hair and a flowing, white gown stood before the angelic lord. A mirror hovered before the two figures, showing the two images of Hotaru and Genis.

"Isn't it?" Yggdrasil's voice was bitter. The woman's smile turned into a frown.

"What's wrong, my lord? Aren't you happy? This helps us with our plan!" she told him. Yggdrasil buried his head into his hand, glaring at the floor.

'_Relationships like that do not help our plan. Compassion will stop my master plan to kill off the Future Moon Senshi and her comrades!_' Yggdrasil thought.

"I need you to do me a favor." Yggdrasil spoke up. The woman bowed.

"Anything for you, my lord." She said. "What do you wish of me?" Yggdrasil paused to think for a moment, looking directly at the woman.

"Capture those two children and bring them to me."


End file.
